


Why Can't I...

by LadyKenz347



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Confessions of LOOOOVEEEE, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24915937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKenz347/pseuds/LadyKenz347
Summary: Written for Into the New Millennium Flash Fiction Competition hosted in Dumbledore’s Armada. Thank you to my alpha and/or beta who will remain anonymous until reveals.Song Title: Why Can't IArtist: Liz PhairYear: 2009(Optional) Lyric inspiration:Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you?It's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to itSo tell meWhy can't I breathe whenever I think about you?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 30
Kudos: 236
Collections: Into the New Millennium





	Why Can't I...

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [Into_the_New_Millennium](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Into_the_New_Millennium) collection. 



> Written for Into the New Millennium Flash Fiction Competition hosted in Dumbledore’s Armada. Thank you to my alpha and/or beta who will remain anonymous until reveals. 
> 
> Song Title: Why Can't I  
> Artist: Liz Phair  
> Year: 2009  
> (Optional) Lyric inspiration: 
> 
> **Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?  
>  Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you?  
> It's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to it  
> So tell me  
> Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?**

“Come on, Granger. Everyone knows you hide out in your office to avoid him.” 

Hermione’s jaw fell open, a fierce blush blooming across her cheekbones. It didn’t matter if he was correct; she’d deny it until she turned blue. At the end of it all, things had ended quite amicably with Cormac. 

Yes. Quite. 

No one wants to see their ex, and so maybe she ducked into an empty conference room or a stranger’s office every now again. Who wouldn’t?

They’d parted ways with nothing but respect for their six-month relationship. Yet, guilt still shrouded her. Again and again, she reassured herself that things were ending because there was no real future between them, which was true. 

But it had also been influenced by the man next to her. The intolerable git she had never wanted to want. At some point in the last few years, he went from mortal enemy to colleague to… friend. 

Now, he’d sneak up behind her and pinch her side before scurrying off with a playful snicker and a wink, leaving her with a pounding heart and a blush. 

She found herself desperate for moments with him. For crying out loud, at one point she sat in on an interdepartmental meeting about the Quidditch World Cup just because she’d gotten so wrapped up in a lie. 

It wasn’t until they’d been out for a pint two weeks ago that she found her gaze lingering on the delicate bow of his lips and the alluring shape they made when he smirked. 

She’d ended things with Cormac the next day. 

That fixed nothing, though, as Draco Malfoy was still seeing his longtime sweetheart, Pansy bleeding Parkinson. The jealousy roiled Hermione’s belly, tasting distinctly of vinegar and seething hatred. 

But to Pansy’s end, she never fussed that Draco spent so much time with Hermione. Never bothered to note that they were often seen walking home together or grabbing a late meal. 

Needless to say, if it was Hermione who was in Draco’s bed, she’d not let another witch within a mile of him. 

“Hello? Are you listening, Granger?”

Hermione blinked several times and turned to face him. “Sorry, I was distracted.”

The ever-present mist of London fell over them as they walked absently down Diagon Alley, headed nowhere in particular. 

Draco sucked his cheek and fixed his eyes ahead. “On anything in particular?”

She shook her head. “No, nothing in particular.” 

“Because if there was something on your mind, you could talk to me.” 

The air felt heavy all of a sudden, pressing in on her until she could scarcely breathe. “I know, and you can always talk to me, too. We’re friends.” 

The words clattered between her ears, and she wrinkled her nose in pure and utter disgust at the treacherous sentiment. 

“What if I don’t want to be friends?” 

Maybe he’d realised what he should have known all along: that she was just a moon-faced girl, pining for Hogwarts’ bad boy like every other tart that crossed his path. 

She swallowed the knot tangling her vocal cords and nodded. “I understand… of course, I—” 

Draco’s hand shot out, wrapping gently around her elbow to stop her. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Hermione. I can’t even talk about you without looking like a complete and utter arse, so I’m resigned to finding ridiculous ways of bringing up your name in conversations just so someone else might talk about you. I can’t breathe when I’m with you because there’s so much I’m not saying.” 

The air left her body in a hard exhale, leaving her utterly breathless as she stared into his silver eyes. His lips parted only to fold shut again as his gaze traveled over her features. 

“Draco, I—” 

Screwing his eyes shut, he quickly continued, “No, I have to get this out or I swear I never will. I’ve been in love with you so long that I don’t even remember when there was a time I wasn’t. That pain that’s here—” He paused, catching her hand and splaying it over his heart. “It’s nothing compared to the ache when we’re apart. I want to be with you all the time, in every way. I want to give you everything I have, and I swear the day you told me you called things off with that twit, McLaggen, I’ve never felt so bleeding happy.” 

It took a long moment for Hermione to process his confession; she could do nothing but stare lamely up at him as each word sank into her soul. Finally, when she could talk again, she latched onto the first sentiment she could think of. “What about Pansy?”

He blinked. “Pansy? She’s not—she’s my best mate. Well, after you.” 

“You’re not dating?”

“Um, no.”

“But I thought you were.” Her words broke on a small whimper at the end because she’d never have fought this as long as she had if the sod had been available. 

The corner of his lips twitched into a smile, and he reached up to tuck a curl behind her ear. “Yeah, well I’m not. I’m in love with this maddening, insufferable witch who won’t bloody tell me if she feels the same way.” 

Hermione’s brows tugged together at the ridiculousness of what he was saying. “Are you daft? Of course I feel the same way—” 

The rest of her confession was silenced as Draco’s perfect, perfect lips slanted over hers, his hand cradling her cheeks as she fought a smile long enough to snog him. One hand slid to her waist, his arm banding around her as she tugged him firmly against her body. 

When their lips inevitably parted, swollen and wet from rain, he grinned. “Let’s get out of here.”


End file.
